Challenging pretrial detention practices in Oregon
In partnership with public defenders in Oregon, Civil Rights Corps is challenging Oregon’s longstanding practices of jailing people charged with misdemeanors prior to trial and jailing people charged with other crimes without constitutionally required due process.
Our clients are locked in a cage because they cannot afford the money required for their freedom. Some are charged only with misdemeanors, and so jailing them violates Oregon law, which allows jailing only for people charged with violent felonies. Others are charged with violent felonies, but have not been provided with constitutionally adequate hearings.
Unfortunately, Oregon detains thousands of people like our clients every day: people charged with misdemeanors who simply cannot afford to purchase their way out of jail, and people who are detained only because they cannot pay money without adequate due process.The project has already resulted in an important initial victory in the Oregon Supreme Court striking down certain pretrial jailing practices in Lane County, Oregon.
Filings:
Order Granting Writ (Feb 6, 2025)
Memorandum in Support of Petition (Jan 23, 2025)
Writ of Habeas Corpus Petition (Jan 23, 2025)
More from the Ending the Criminalization of Poverty
Sandoval v. Riverside. In May 2025, individuals detained in Riverside County jails filed a class action lawsuit challenging Riverside County’s cash-based jailing of individuals between their arrest and first court hearing, as well as Riverside County’s unnecessary delay of that hearing. Rabbi David Lazar and Reverend Jane Quandt chose to join this lawsuit because they view cash-based jailing as unconscionable. The lawsuit was filed against Riverside County Superior Court, Riverside County, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Butler v. Prince George's County. In 2022, CRC and partners filed a class action lawsuit challenging Prince George’s County's pretrial detention practices. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that PG County and its officials violate Plaintiffs’ rights under the United States and Maryland Constitutions by detaining people pretrial without meeting the substantive and procedural standards required for pretrial detention.
Urquidi v. City of Los Angeles. CRC and co-counsel brought suit in California Superior Court in November 2022 on behalf of several individuals who had been jailed for five days simply because they could not access enough cash to pay for their freedom.
Rodriguez v. Providence Community Corrections. In September 2017, Civil Rights Corps announced a landmark settlement in a first-of-its-kind class action case in federal court against Rutherford County and Providence Community Corrections, Inc., a private probation company that made millions of dollars over more than a decade by exploiting the poorest people in Rutherford County.
Walker v. City of Calhoun. In 2015, Civil Rights Corps and the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a crucial lawsuit that alleged that the money bail system in Calhoun, Georgia was unconstitutional.
Edwards v. Cofield. In 2017, Civil Rights Corps and partners filed a putative class-action lawsuit alleging that the money bail system in Randolph County, Alabama, violated the constitutional rights of people charged with misdemeanors or felonies because it created a “two-tiered” system of justice based on wealth.
Robinson v. Martin. Civil Rights Corps filed a historic challenge to the unconstitutional money bail system in Cook County, Illinois. Our 2016 lawsuit alleged that the money bail system that pervaded the Chicago region, in which people are kept in jail cells solely because they cannot make monetary payments, is unconstitutional.
Fant v. City of Ferguson. In 2015, we filed a landmark challenge to the City of Ferguson’s conversion of its legal system into a mechanism for generating revenue. The lawsuit sought justice for thousands of people who alleged that Ferguson routinely violated their constitutional rights by jailing them in deplorable conditions and without the necessary legal process because they could not pay money to the City.
Hester v. Gentry. In 2018, Civil Rights Corps and partners filed a lawsuit alleging that hundreds of people in Cullman County, Alabama, are routinely jailed before trial due to their inability to pay bail in exchange for their release.